VATICAN CITY - With a simple tap, Pope Francis joined Instagram and quickly set a record for gaining one million followers.

Seeds of the Word: Finding God in the Culture (Word On Fire, hardcover, 275 pages, $24.95).

The teen vampire series Twilight has at least one thing in common with the prolific 20th-century Catholic writer and monk Thomas Merton — they both have a part in teaching us about God in the culture.

The pollster Gallup reports Pope Francis’ popularity in the United States has dropped significantly over the past year, fueled by his writings and teachings surrounding the environment, capitalism, income inequality and other issues.